Car News
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General Motors has confirmed that it will bring a production version of last year’s Chevrolet Orlando concept vehicle to the United States in 2011, reversing an earlier decision to only sell the vehicle overseas. Now it looks like GM is also considering using its Volt plug-in hybrid technology in the Orlando. Bob Lutz, speaking with GM-Volt today re-confirmed what other GM officials have previously suggested: that the Voltec powertrain found in the Volt could be applied to the Orlando. "I would point out that the Chevrolet Orlando is built on the same basic vehicle architecture and...
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SV Motor Company’s new Corvette-based 9 Competizione unveiledThe current C6 Corvette platform is proving to be a popular basis for independent coachbuilders, with several firms releasing their own take on the classic sports car over the past 12 months. Corvette-based cars like the Anteros XTM, Innotech C6 and the more recent Bertone Mantide all spring to...
James Martinez -
Piquet Jr. cut from Renault F1 team, calls Briatore his "executioner"Nelson Piquet Jr. on Monday confirmed he has been ousted from the Renault team. In a statement posted on his official website, the 23-year-old Brazilian said it is "with disappointment" that he has been served notice that he will be replaced. "But, at the same time, I feel a sense of relief for the...
Kenneth Hall -
Lotus USA now offering supercharger kits for standard Elise, ExigeThe power-to-lightness ratio of the naturally-aspirated Lotus Elise and Exige models has never been found lacking, being some of the most competent street/track cars available today. But for those that would like a little more grunt with their grace, Lotus Cars USA is now offering the same kit...
Nelson Ireson -
Turnaround reached? Ford announces first sales rise in 19 monthsIt's already August and the industry isn't expecting to see much more than 10 million sales, but Ford today announced it is up 2% overall and 9% in retail versus a year ago thanks in part to the government's CARS (aka 'cash for clunkers') program. Could this turnaround be the beginning of the...
Ralph Hanson -
Ford’s custom Mustang AV-X10 ‘Dearborn Doll’ raises $250,000 for young aviatorsLast year Ford built a custom Mustang dubbed the AV8R for the annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Gathering of Eagles festival, an event that saw the car eventually auctioned off for a princely sum of $500,000. For this year’s event Ford has built another stunner, once again based...
James Martinez -
Getting more out of the current generation of hardware is becoming increasingly important for the major carmakers as fuel and emissions standards tighten, but getting more power out of smaller, less expensive engines is also advantageous from a cost perspective. That's what makes Fiat's Multiair technology so attractive, and explains why Chrysler might get the technology in the very near future. It's actually surprisingly easy to retrofit the Multiair valve system to an existing engine, Lucio Bernard, director of Fiat Powertrain Technologies, told Automotive News. Internally, the groundwork...
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Former VW powertrain chief builds super-efficient engineIt seems that the current spate of environmental consciousness encircling the globe has spawned a number of entrepreneurs wanting to cash in on the need to go greener - including legitimate operations like Tesla and its electric cars, as well as some more dodgy operations such as the proponents of...
Ralph Hanson -
BMW picks Bosch and Samsung JV as Project i battery supplierBMW's foray into the world of hybrids is expected to begin at some point this year with the release of a hybrid variant of the 7-series flagship and eventually the X5 and X6 SUVs as well. While development for those cars is mostly complete, BMW is preparing its next-generation of hybrids and...
Alex Kaufmann -
FPV unleashes F6 E executive muscle car on Aussie marketFord's Australian-based performance division, Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) recently showed off its new F6 E concept - a high-powered, rear-wheel drive muscle car aimed at executive who likes luxurious surrounds while creating plumes of smoke with the rear tires. Today, FPV finally launched the...
Jeremy Weber -
Nissan investigating use of turbos in mainstream modelsBack in the glory days of affordable Japanese sports cars, such as the Toyota Supra, the Mazda RX-7 and the Nissan 300ZX, turbocharging was the norm for achieving high horsepower figures while keeping prices low - and while Toyota and Mazda may not be considering bringing back turbocharged sports...
James Martinez -
Miley Cyrus Parks Toyota Prius In Handicapped Space, Gets MilkshakeLike many of Hollywood's Very Very Very Famous People, Miley Cyrus drives a Toyota Prius. At least some of the time, since we don't know if she's hiding a Paris-Hilton-style Bentley Continental GT in her garage. But as shown on Hollywood.tv in March, the "Hannah Montana" starlet has clearly parked...
John Voelcker -
Jaguar is known for its use of aluminum in the construction of some of its models, and the weight and dynamic advantages that this approach offers compared to traditional steel-bodied automobiles. Now, it has been revealed by Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata that all future Jaguar and Land Rover models will make use of aluminum in their bodies - a move that will help Jaguar and Land Rover models keep weight down and improve mileage and efficiency figures. Tata Motors, which owns Jaguar and Land Rover, revealed the information through Ratan Tata's comments in the company's annual report. The...
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Nissan lifts the covers off Leaf electric carThere's the Tesla Roadster and several three-wheeled electric vehicles for sale, but so far getting a purely electric-powered car to production with a standard car's features at a price the general public can afford has eluded the industry. Until the Nissan LEAF, that is. Or at least that's the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Build your own Jaguar XJ with new configuratorJaguar has launched a dedicated website for its new 2010 XJ sedan, with a number of interesting features to keep potential customers and the curious interested in the car. The site showcases the design and engineering elements what went into creating the svelte new Jaguar, and includes a...
Kenneth Hall -
Original 1969 Yenko Camaro modernized as part of 40th anniversary celebrationAs Camaro fans get ready to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the legendary 1969 Yenko Camaro this year, the guys over at Chop, Cut, Rebuild decided to get in on the fun and partner with D&P Classic Chevy, Original Equipment Reproduction (OER) and Classic Industries to build a unique tribute to the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Report: Next Audi A8 to get handwriting recognitionWindows Mobile devices have been doing it for years. Palm devices for even longer. So why haven't high-end luxury cars offered handwriting recognition as a standard feature yet? That question may soon be answered - whether for the good or the bad - with the next-gen Audi A8. Set for a debut at the...
Kenneth Hall -
Foreign luxury carmakers could get loophole in upcoming fuel regulationsIn May the White House unveiled a new fuel efficiency policy calling for 35.5mpg fleet averages by 2016, and almost immediately the carmakers began talking about how much it would cost them. But now it looks like the luxury carmakers in the U.S. - primarily foreign marques - could catch a break...
Alex Kaufmann -
The RWD Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni was just officially revealed a month ago, and now the company has released a video documenting Balboni's involvement with and influence on the car's design process, and how it reflects his 40 years of test-driving experience. At just shy of five minutes long, the video doesn't go into tremendous depth but with cut scenes of the car in serious sideways action and Valentino Balboni himself explaining the car, it adds a level of authenticity and perspective that might otherwise be lacking in the two-wheel drive Gallardo's image. But enough...
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Video: Ford taking on luxury carmakers with new Taurus adsAcura and Lexus aren't the brands you'd normally think of when you think of Ford's competition, but those are exactly the targets of Ford's latest ad campaign for the new 2010 Taurus. Featuring a series of torture tests, the ads try to convey the level of quality and value offered by the big...
Nelson Ireson -
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Chrysler officially extends PT Cruiser's lifespan by another yearOn the back of falling sales and a model run that has lasted more than nine years, Chrysler decided back in January to end production of the PT Cruiser by the middle of this year. In June, we brought you word that the retro-styled wagon would live on for at least another year, and now Chrysler has...
Ralph Hanson -
Mazda celebrates 20 years of roadsters with special edition in JapanWhen Mazda launched the Miata, or Roadster as it's known in Japan, in 1989, few suspected it would go on to become the best-selling open-top sports car of all time, but over 860,000 vehicles later, the car is officially the most popular roadster in existence. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of...
Nelson Ireson -
Snoop Dogg's 1967 Cadillac, aka Brown SugarAn item on one of our sister sites here at the High Gear Media global nerve center rags on a Detroit News piece yesterday that mixes up a Cadillac and a Lincoln. We're more interested in the car itself. It's a decked-out 1967 Cadillac owned by rap star and sometime-Chrysler-spokesman Snoop Dogg...
John Voelcker